Citizenship of the European Union was introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, which was signed in 1992, and has been in force since 1993. European Union citizenship is additional[1] to national citizenship and affords rights such as the right to vote in European elections, the right to free movement, settlement and employment across the EU, and the right to consular protection by other EU states' embassies when a person's country of citizenship does not maintain an embassy or a consulate in the country in which they require protection.[2]

However, the treaty provisions were interpreted by the European Court of Justice not as having a narrow economic purpose, but rather a wider social and economic purpose.[6] In Levin,[7] the Court found that the "freedom to take up employment was important, not just as a means towards the creation of a single market for the benefit of the member state economies, but as a right for the worker to raise her or his standard of living".[6] Under the ECJ caselaw, the rights of free movement of workers applies regardless of the worker's purpose in taking up employment abroad,[7] to both part-time and full-time work,[7] and whether or not the worker required additional financial assistance from the member state into which he moves.[8] Since the ECJ has held[9] that a recipient of service has free movement rights under the treaty and this criterion is easily fulfilled,[10] effectively every national of an EU country within another member state, whether economically active or not, had a right under Article 12 of the European Community Treaty to non-discrimination even prior to the Maastricht Treaty.[11]

In Martinez Sala,[12] the European Court of Justice held that the citizenship provisions provided substantive free movement rights in addition to those already granted by union law.

Voting in municipal elections: a right to vote and stand in local elections in an EU state other than their own, under the same conditions as the nationals of that state (Article 22)

Accessing European government documents: a right to access to European Parliament, Council, and Commission documents (Article 15).

Petitioning Parliament and the Ombudsman: the right to petition the European Parliament and the right to apply to the European Ombudsman in order to bring to his attention any cases of poor administration by the EU institutions and bodies, with the exception of the legal bodies (Article 24)[16]

Right to free movement and residence: a right of free movement and residence throughout the Union and the right to work in any position (including national civil services with the exception of those posts in the public sector that involve the exercise of powers conferred by public law and the safeguard of general interests of the State or local authorities (Article 21) for which however there is no one single definition);

Freedom from discrimination on nationality: a right not to be discriminated against on grounds of nationality within the scope of application of the Treaty (Article 18);

Rights abroad

Right to consular protection: a right to protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of other Member States when in a non-EU Member State, if there are no diplomatic or consular authorities from the citizen's own state (Article 23): this is due to the fact that not all member states maintain embassies in every country in the world (14 countries have only one embassy from an EU state).[17]

Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in this Treaty and by the measures adopted to give it effect.

EU Citizenship is destined to be the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States[18]

The ECJ has held that this Article confers a directly effective right upon citizens to reside in another Member State.[18][19] Before the case of Baumbast,[19] it was widely assumed that non-economically active citizens had no rights to residence deriving directly from the EU Treaty, only from directives created under the Treaty. In Baumbast, however, the ECJ held that (the then)[20] Article 18 of the EC Treaty granted a generally applicable right to residency, which is limited by secondary legislation, but only where that secondary legislation is proportionate.[21] Member States can distinguish between nationals and Union citizens but only if the provisions satisfy the test of proportionality.[22] Migrant EU citizens have a "legitimate expectation of a limited degree of financial solidarity... having regard to their degree of integration into the host society"[23] Length of time is a particularly important factor when considering the degree of integration.

The ECJ's case law on citizenship has been criticised for subjecting an increasing number of national rules to the proportionality assessment.[22]

1. Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Union.
2. Such freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.

State employment reserved exclusively for nationals varies between member states. For example, training as a barrister in Britain and Ireland is not reserved for nationals, while the corresponding French course qualifies one as a 'juge' and hence can only be taken by French citizens. However, it is broadly limited to those roles that exercise a significant degree of public authority, such as judges, police, the military, diplomats, senior civil servants or politicians. Note that not all Member States choose to restrict all of these posts to nationals.

New member states may undergo transitional regimes, during which their nationals only enjoy restricted access to labour markets in other member states. EU member states are permitted to keep restrictions on citizens of the newly acceded countries for a maximum of seven years after accession. For the EFTA states (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), the maximum is nine years.

Following the 2004 enlargement, three "old" member states—Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom—decided to allow unrestricted access to their labour markets. By December 2009, all but two member states—Austria and Germany—had completely dropped controls. These restrictions too expired on 1 May 2011.[26]

Following the 2013 enlargement, some countries implemented restrictions on Croatian nationals following the country's EU accession on 1 July 2013. As of July 2013, all but 13 EU countries have dropped restrictions entirely.[27] The UK Home Office has announced a bill to this effect.[28]

There is no common EU policy on the acquisition of European citizenship as it is supplementary to national citizenship (EU citizenship is generally granted at the same time as national citizenship is granted, likewise it is removed at the point of removal of national citizenship). Article 20 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[15] states that:

"Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union shall be additional to and not replace national citizenship."

While nationals of Member States are citizens of the union, "It is for each Member State, having due regard to Union law, to lay down the conditions for the acquisition and loss of nationality."[29] As a result, there is a great variety in rules and practices with regard to the acquisition and loss of citizenship in EU member states.[30]

Another example are the residents of Faroe Islands of Denmark which, though in possession of full Danish citizenship, are outside the EU and are explicitly excluded from EU citizenship under the terms of the Danish Accession Treaty.[34] This is in contrast to residents of the Danish territory of Greenland who, whilst also outside the EU as a result of the 1984 Greenland Treaty, do receive EU citizenship as this was not specifically excluded by the terms of that treaty (see Faroe Islands and the European Union; Greenland and the European Union).

Austrian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

Conditions

born to Austrian parents

born after January 9, 1983 and if parents are married at the time of birth, Austrian citizenship of either the mother or the father is sufficient

born before or on January 9, 1983: father must have been an Austrian citizen; children born to an Austrian mother married to a non-Austrian father do not qualify. If parents are not married, however, a father cannot pass on Austrian citizenship, whereas a mother can

should the parents happen to marry at some time after birth, citizenship is automatically granted to child retroactively. If the child is over 14 at that time, child's consent is needed.

6 years' residence if married for at least 5 years (and general citizenship conditions are met, including German language proficiency)

6 years' residence if born in Austria, citizen of another EEC country, granted asylum, or "exceptionally integrated"

depending on fulfillment of other conditions, up to 30 years' residence

Only allowed with special permission or if dual citizenship was obtained at birth (binational parents [one Austrian, one foreign] or birth in a jus-soli country such as USA and Canada)

who is foundling (but such citizenship can be revoked if later established both parents were foreign citizens)

Croatian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

Conditions: born to Croatian parents born after March 1, 1991 and if parents are married at the time of birth, Croatian citizenship of mother the father is required should the parents happen to marry at some time after birth, citizenship is automatically granted to child retroactively. If the child is over 14 at that time, child's consent is needed. ?

8 years' residence (can be shortened)

8 years' residence

sufficient knowledge of Croatian language

Yes, but persons seeking to become Croatian citizens by naturalisation are to renounce foreign citizenship unless applying by 'privileged naturalisation' (e.g. descendants of Croatian emigrants)

Persons for whom French is their mother tongue or who have been enrolled for 5 years in a French-language institution in a country where the official language or one of the official languages is French.

Greek nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

Member of recognised historical Greek community abroad in countries of ex-USSR

Ethnic Greek of different citizenship accepted to military academies, or inscribes to serve to the army, or enlists as a volunteer in time of war

Child or grandchild of a Greek Citizen

3 years of continuous residence in Greece and has an offspring from the marriage

10 years residence in the last 12 years

5 years residence in the last 12 years for refugees

Sufficient knowledge of Greek language, Greek history, and Greek culture in general

Athlete of an Olympic Sport, with 5 years residence in the last 12 years, who fulfills the conditions of being a member of the Greek National Team of that sport, as these are stated by the international laws for that sport

are automatically an Irish citizen if he or she is not entitled to the citizenship of any other country.

entitled to be an Irish citizen if at least one parent is:

an Irish citizen (or someone entitled to be an Irish citizen).

a resident of the island of Ireland who is entitled to reside in either the Republic or Northern Ireland without any time limit on that residence.

a legal resident of the island of Ireland for three out of the 4 years preceding the child's birth.

Irish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

if at the time of birth, at least one parent was an Irish citizen.

if you have an Irish citizen grandparent born on the island of Ireland. The parent would have automatically been an Irish citizen. Grandchild can secure citizenship by registering themselves in the Foreign Births Register. Citizenship gained via the Foreign Births Register can only be passed on to children born after the parent themselves were registered.

3 years of marriage or civil partnership to an Irish citizen

5 years of residency in Ireland, of which 1 (one) year immediately before application

The residency period can be waived, in the discretion of the Minister of Justice, for a person of "Irish descent or associations".

Italian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

Conditions

(Rules are in place that permit the recognition of Italian nationality for many members of the Italian diaspora, even generations after departure. The rules are complex.)

Citizenship was accorded ethnic Italians born in the territory only in/after 1863.

After this, Italian citizen fathers could pass down citizenship.

Mothers pass down citizenship only for children born in/after 1948.

A child gaining another citizenship by birth may also gain Italian citizenship by parentage, with no interference. If such a child is an Italian citizen, he/she can pass on citizenship subject to the rules above, like any other Italian citizen.

A person naturalising to a foreign state loses the right to pass on citizenship to any children he/she may have after naturalisation.

A father's later naturalisation also retroactively annulled the child's citizenship if the child was born before 1910.

2 years of legal residence in Italy (3 years if living abroad) through naturalisation

10 years' residence, no criminal record and sufficient financial resources

Persons born outside Malta between 21 September 1964 and 31 July 1989 to a father with Maltese citizenship through birth in Malta, registration or naturalisation

Persons born on or after 1 August 1989, inside or outside Malta, to at least one parent with Maltese citizenship through birth in Malta, registration or naturalisation

Maltese nationality is acquired by descent under the following condition:

Direct descendant, second or subsequent generation, born abroad of an ascendant who was born in Malta of a parent who was also born in Malta.

Yes

5 years of marriage to a Maltese citizen (if de jure or de facto separated, then still living together five years after the marriage) or a widow/widower of a Maltese citizen five years after the marriage

Children born or found in Poland acquire Polish citizenship when both parents are unknown, or when their citizenship cannot be established, or if determined to be statelessness.

Polish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

Conditions

Certain descendants of Polish citizens, even after multiple generations, can apply for recognition:

Polish citizenship begins 1920.

Acquisition of foreign citizenship prior to 1951 led to the loss of Polish nationality.

After this, any Polish citizen transmits nationality to all his/her children and nationality is only lost by explicit request.

These children can pass on nationality as well.

Descendants of Polish-language/ethnic persons in some neighboring countries including Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine et al., can apply for Karta Polaka which gives many of the same rights as Polish citizenship but serves as a substitute when acquisition of Polish citizenship would result in the loss of the person's earlier citizenship.

Yes

3 years of residence with permanent residence permit card under the condition of speaking Polish language

2 years of residence with permanent residence permit card under the condition of having Polish ethnicity

Yes but in Poland, Polish identification must be used and the dual citizen is treated legally as only Polish

have a birth parent resident in Portugal for at least 10 years on a valid residence permit

have a birth parent with citizenship of a Lusophone country and resident in Portugal for at least 6 years on a valid residence permit

Portuguese nationality is transmitted by descent under one of the following conditions:

Conditions

a child becomes a Portuguese national at birth, and nationality is recognised by the law itself if at least one of the parents of that child is a Portuguese national and the birth takes place in Portugal or in a territory administered by Portugal. (That form of transmission of nationality, combining descent from a Portuguese parent and birth in Portugal is the main form of transmission of the Portuguese nationality). No registration is necessary for the transmission of nationality in that case.

Nationality is also recognised by the law itself at birth to a child born outside Portugal, provided that the said child has at least one Portuguese parent, and the birth takes place outside Portugal due to the parent's service to the Portuguese State abroad. No registration is necessary for the transmission of nationality in that case,

Nationality retroactive to the moment of birth is recognised by the law to a person born outside Portugal if at least one of the birth parents is a Portuguese national, but only if that person's birth is registered before the Portuguese Civil Registry or if a declaration by that person, stating that he or she wants to be a Portuguese citizen, is lodged with the Portuguese Civil Registry. The registration of the birth can be applied for at any time during the person's life, by the parents, by another legal guardian of a minor, or by the person himself, if the person is already of age (18 years old or older). The registration of the birth or of the declaration can be made at any time during the person's life, but the descendants of that person cannot ask for the registration after that person is dead. Thus, if one generation is skipped, the next generation cannot register. Registration can be made either in Portugal or by means of a Portuguese Consulate abroad. If the registration is applied to by means of a Consulate, the Consulate processes the request and sends the necessary papers to the central registry office of the Portuguese Civil Registry in Lisbon. Given that the registration produces legal effects retroactive to the moment of birth, the person, once registered as a Portuguese citizen, is recognised by law as a natural born citizen.(Sons and daughters of that person, even if born before the moment of that person's registration, and even if born outside Portugal are therefore themselves able to apply for registration as Portuguese citizens, because their parent is a Portuguese citizen since birth. Accordingly, this form of transmission of nationality, combining descent and registration, allows for the transmission of Portuguese nationality from generation to generation indefinitely, even if the members of the successive generations are born outside Portugal and never reside in Portugal, provided that registration is not skipped by one generation). Many descendants of Portuguese immigrants, especially in Brazil and other Lusophone countries, hold dual nationality, being recognised as natural born Portuguese citizens upon registration under that rule.

A person married to a Portuguese national for at least 3 years can apply to be registered as a Portuguese national as a matter of right, provided that the registration is applied for during the marriage (and not after its dissolution by death or divorce). Nationality takes effect upon registration and is not retroactive, and is not lost by the dissolution of the marriage.

Naturalisation conditions

Naturalisation can be granted at the State's discretion to persons who are of age and who reside in Portugal for at least six years on a valid permit, provided that they demonstrate knowledge of the Portuguese language and have never been convicted of a crime punishable under Portuguese law with a prison term of 3 years or more.

Naturalisation can be granted to persons who do not reside in Portugal, or who do not satisfy the condition of residing in Portugal for at least six years on a valid permit, provided that the person applying is a second degree relative (grandson or granddaughter, or a sibling) of a Portuguese citizen.

the Portuguese Government can also grant naturalisation to foreigners who are of age and who meet neither the six-year legal residency requirement nor the knowledge of the Portuguese language requirement, provided that the person was a Portuguese national in the past, or that the applicant is held to be a descendant of Portuguese citizens, or a member of Portuguese communities abroad, or provided that the applicant is found to have rendered, or is expected to render in the future relevant services to the Portuguese State or to the national community.

Minors born in Portugal to foreign parents can by be granted Portuguese Nationality by the Government, if, at the time of the request made on their behalf by their legal representatives, they have completed the first cycle of the basic education in Portugal, and if one of the parents legally resides in Portugal for at least five years. The requirements of being of age at the time of the request and of legally residing in Portugal for at least six years are waived with respect to a minor meeting those conditions, but the minor must still demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language, and must not have been convicted to crimes that carry under Portuguese law a prison penalty of thee years or more.

the Portuguese Government can also grant naturalisation to foreigners who prove that they descend from Portuguese Sephardic Jews and who demonstrate that they belong to a traditional Jewish Sephardic community of Portuguese origin;

Nationality is granted as a matter of right (and not by naturalisation in the strict sense) to a person who is a son or a daughter of someone who acquires Portuguese Nationality by naturalisation, provided that the person was a minor at the time of the parent's naturalisation, and provided that the person in question, either represented by his parents or by another legal guardian (during minority or incapacity), or by himself (once of age) applies to be registered as a Portuguese national.

Romanian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

Conditions

Persons with a Romanian ancestor up to 3 generations back may be eligible for citizenship:

Persons with at least one parent, grandparent or great-grandparent, born anytime before 1940 in a location that was in the Kingdom of Romania between 1918 and 1940 (including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina) and can demonstrate competence in the Romanian language, are eligible for restoration of citizenship.

Persons with a parent or grandparent still registered as a Romanian citizen, may apply for clarification of their own citizenship. Romanian citizenship is NOT automatically lost by naturalisation to a foreign country.

Slovak nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

After 5 years' residence in Slovakia, and living in Slovakia without any immigration restrictions at the time of application

8 years' residence (5 years until a permanent residence is acquired plus 3 years of permanent residence)

Dual citizenship is permitted to Slovak citizens who acquire a second citizenship by birth or through marriage; and to foreign nationals who apply for Slovak citizenship and meet the requirements of the Citizenship Act.[45][46]

A child born in Slovenia is a Slovenian citizen if either parent is a Slovenian citizen. Where the child is born outside Slovenia the child will be automatically Slovenian if:

both parents are Slovenian citizens; or

one parent is Slovenian and the other parent is unknown, is of unknown citizenship or is stateless.

A person born outside Slovenia with one Slovenian parent who is not Slovenian automatically may acquire Slovenian citizenship through:

an application for registration as a Slovenian citizen made at any time before age 36; or

taking up permanent residence in Slovenia before age 18.

Children adopted by Slovenian citizens may be granted Slovenian citizenship.

Slovenian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

A person of "Slovenian origin" up to the fourth generation in direct descent or a former Slovenian citizen may be naturalised without any residence requirements.

A person who is married to a Slovenian citizen for at least two years may be naturalised after one year's residence in Slovenia

A total of 10 years residence in Slovenia, including 5 years continuous residence before the application

Dual citizenship is generally permitted in Slovenia, except for certain persons seeking to become Slovenian citizens by naturalisation they are to renounce any foreign citizenship (the requirement to renounce foreign citizenship may be waived upon special application).

Swedish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

Conditions

Person: whose mother is a Swedish citizen,

or born in Sweden whose father is a Swedish citizen

whose father is a Swedish citizen and married to the mother (also later marriage)

3 years' marriage in case residing in Sweden, 10 years in case living abroad with a Swedish spouse and has 'strong ties' to Sweden, by family visits and such

5 years normal residence permit (not the time limited residence/work permit/Study Permit) and must hold Swedish permanent residence permit at the time of applying or person with a visa intended for settlement in Sweden with 5 years residence in Sweden.

British nationality is acquired by descent under one of several conditions. See separate article section of "British by descent" for details.

3 years' residence (must be without any immigration restrictions on date of application)[50]

5 years' continuous residence, with at least 12 months' residence without any conditions (the last year of which without any immigration restrictions, i.e. Indefinite Leave to Remain or permanent residence as an EU citizen)[50]

EU citizenship is additional to national citizenship.[1] The general rule for losing EU citizenship is that European citizenship is lost if member state nationality is lost,[51] but the automatic loss of EU citizenship as a result of a member state withdrawing from the EU is the subject of debate.[52]

One school of legal thought indicates that the Maastricht treaty created the European Union as a legal entity, it then also created the status of EU citizen which gave an individual relationship between the EU and its citizens, and a status of EU citizen. Clemens Rieder suggests a case can be made that "[n]one of the Member States were forced to confer the status of EU citizenship on their citizens but once they have, according to this argument, they cannot simply withdraw this status."[52]

Another school of legal thought indicates that the Maastricht treaty created the European Union as a legal entity, but it does not have a direct legal relationship with its citizens and EU citizenship is not comparable with any other citizenships and is not additional to the member state citizenship. EU citizenship is only a special feature that member states can offer their citizens. The relationship between an EU citizen and the EU as an organization, is therefore only legally through the member state. In this situation, when the member country leaves, the ex-member country can no longer offer that special feature to its citizens, thus British citizens would no longer be EU citizens.[53][not in citation given][need quotation to verify]

Denmark obtained four opt-outs from the Maastricht Treaty following the treaty's initial rejection in a 1992 referendum. The opt-outs are outlined in the Edinburgh Agreement and concern the EMU (as above), the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) and the citizenship of the European Union. The citizenship opt-out stated that European citizenship did not replace national citizenship; this opt-out was rendered meaningless when the Amsterdam Treaty adopted the same wording for all members. The policy of recent Danish governments has been to hold referendums to abolish these opt-outs, including formally abolishing the citizenship opt-out which is still technically active even if redundant.

^Dougan, M. (2006). "The constitutional dimension to the case law on Union citizenship". European Law Review. 31 (5): 613–641.. See also Case C-209/03R (Dany Bidar) v. London Borough of Ealing and Secretary of State for Education and Skills, para. [56]-[59].

^Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.

^Case C-396/90Micheletti v. Delegación del Gobierno en Cantabria, which established that dual-nationals of a Member State and a non-Member State were entitled to freedom of movement; case C-192/99R v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex p. Manjit Kaur. It is not an abuse of process to acquire nationality in a Member State solely to take advantage of free movement rights in other Member States: case C-200/02Kunqian Catherine Zhu and Man Lavette Chen v Secretary of State for the Home Department.